Automobile-shifting-lever lock.



- AUGUST F. SINDERMANN, 0F MARTHO N, WISCONSIN.

.auromoBILn-smrrme-Lnvnn Loox.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 12, 191.8.A

Application led July 5, 1917. Serial Ko. 178,640.

To all whom may concern."

Be itknown that I, AUGUST F. 'SINDER- MANN, a citizen of tho United States, and 'i resident of Marathon; in the county of Mara-y thon' and State of Wlsconsin, have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Automobile-Shifting-Lever Locks; and Ido hereby declare that thefollowing is'a full,

, a lockin plate 4 having itstop substantlally 'flat whi e its bottom is shaped to conform clear, and exact description thereof'.

My invention relates-to new and useful* improvements in automobile'- locking means, more particularly to devices which are used to prevent unauthorized persons from using machines to which they are applied.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a locking device which can be used in combination with the shifting lever of an automobile,`either the clutch or the gear shifting lever, to lock lthe same in its neutral position.

An additional object ing device which 4is particularly adapted for use vin connectionwith shiftin levers which operate. in the so called H-p atesand are used primari] for ear shifting.

A still -furt er ob]ect is toprovide a simply constructed device of relatively; small` size which can be easily attached to and detached from the parts to be llocked thereby. With the' foregoing and otherobjects 'and advantages in viewl the invention resides; in4

the novel features of construction, combinationand arrangement of arts which w1ll be hereinafter more particu arly described and being shown in section;

Fi 3 1s a'vertical transverse sectlonon ing plate.

clahirned, and shown in the drawing-wherein:

1 calle H-plate in which 'a shiftin lever is adapted to operate, my invention. eing ap'- plied to said H-plate and shown in a side elevational view. ,1'

2 is a plan view of the parts which serve A'to lock the shifting lever,

the p ane ofthe line 3-3`of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the lock- .In the preferred embodiment of my inventions, as shown in thev accompanying drawin it will be seen that" it is adapted tobe disposed on the top of a plate 1 having a substantially H-shaped slot 2 therein. As usual with a machine carrying such a' plate, the shifting lever 3 for changing the gears of the vehicle is disposedfwhen in .neutral position, in the centralportion of vopen end slot 5' extendin through one-half thelen mid-Way the side edges. his slot receives is to provide alock- ,v

re 1 is a vertical section through a sothe latter f y' lofthe.H-shaoed slotalthough their Width the slot or the cross bar ofthe H. The gears .are'out of mesh when the .lever is in this From the several figures ofthe drawing,

it will beseen that my invention comprises to the curvature or coni uration of the H- plates, Vand that thisloc ing plate has an thereof vand the'shiftin'g lever 3 when the same is in neutral lpositioxnas shown in Fig. 2.

- The 'plateA 4 is held against movement relative to-the parts with which it is-,associated by a pair of longitudinally extending ribs.

substantially 6 which. are disposed parallel to each other f and have their adjacent edges substantially coincident withv the longitudinal edges of the slot-5, and parts coperating with'said ribs to retain them in a stationary position within ythe' long slots of the H-plate. One end of each. rib is recessed as shown at 7 to provide keepers to receive portions of the H-plates when the ribs are disposed inthe long slots thereof, las illustrated in Fig. 1. f

The plate .4^is therebyprevented from shiftingl in one direction, movement in the other direction ybeing revented byl plates 8 which are secured to t e Jlower ends of spindles 9, whichare journaled in openings in the plate 4 -at the end thereof remotefrom the keepers 7. Although'the plates 8'are shown as formed separately from the spin-l v dles' 9,'t is; obvious v that they might be also in the form of lugs and extended laterally therefrom. The lengtho'f the plates 8 is greater than the width of the longportions issubstantially similar thereto. B v such an. arrangement, it is obvious that by disposing the lugs longitudinally of the plate 4A before vplacing the same over theH-shaped slot,'and

thenafter the same is in position extending the former laterally of saidslot, asin Fig. 2,

that the plate will'be locked in position to hold lthe shifting ,lever 3.' In such a case,

' lever will thus be positively locked against movement in any other direction, and since it is disposed 1n neutral posltion, the automobile will be rendered inoperative; In or.

der to remove the locking plate 4, it is simply necessary to remove the pad-lock from the eyes 10 and move the same apart, as shown inbFig. 4, until' the lugs 8 are alined with the ri s 6.

Various changes may be made in formand proportion and minor details of construction of the several parts of this invention to accommodate it for use on automobiles of various makes without departing `from any of the principles of this invention` as set forth in the following claim. f'

The combination with a member having a pair of spaced parallel slots and a transverse slot connecting the other slots intermediate their ends, and a shiftable lever" movable in. said slots,`f a locking plate having a slot extending inwardly from one edge,

retrasar said slot being of a width substantially equal the distance between the parallel slots, a pair' of parallel spaced ribs depending from one sidev of the plate, the adjacent sides of the ribs being'coincident with the edges of the slots in said plate, said ribs each being of a widthv substantially equal to the widthl of each of the pairs of parallel slots adapted to be disposed therein, one en d of each rib being recessed to provide a keeper for engage ment with the, ends of the parallel slots, whereby to prevent said plate fromshifting, a pair of spindles disposed adjacent the'other ends of the ribs, a lug ixed to the lower end of each spindle, said lugs being adapted to be disposed through the pair' of parallel slots yand engaged with the under side of the member, and an eyefon the upper end of each spindle, said eyes being positioned substantially at right angles to said lugs. I

ln testimony that l' claim the foregoing li have hereunto setmy hand at Marathon,` in the county of Marathon and State ofWisconsin. v.

AUGUST F. SNDERMANN,

@opten o?, this )patent may be obtained for ve cents each, Tay addressing the"ommisatoner o? Entente,

Washington, D. C. 4 v 

